With Both Feet
by Aryndiel
Summary: “They had all tried it.” The Bone-Eater's Well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine oneshots of varying lengths.
1. Miroku

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 1: Miroku**

They had all tried it.

Secretly, of course. No one wanted to get caught looking foolish. But after Shippou had failed to cross through the well despite the jewel shards, curiosity burned.

This was why Miroku could be found standing by the well, trying to make up his mind. He'd been careful to make sure no one knew where he was heading. The questions would be uncomfortable if he was caught.

What factor decided who could cross through and who couldn't? How was it that Kagome and Inuyasha could cross through so easily?

He reached into his kimono and pulled out a flimsy book with strange, glossy paper, the colourful images appearing so realistic. Opening it to a well-thumbed page, he studied the scantily clad women for a minute. Then he tucked the pilfered "mag-a-seen" back into his kimono and sat down on the rim of the well, swinging his legs inside.

How hard could it be?

Pushing off from the edge, he released himself to the pull of gravity, and hopefully, the magic of the time portal.

Later, Kaede would wonder why he blushed when she asked him why he was limping.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	2. Kouga

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 2: Kouga**

"So this is where Kagome-nee-san comes from?"

Ginta cocked his head to the left as he stared at the outside of the well, examining it for some hint of its riddles.

"Seems a little cramped," Hakkaku remarked, leaning his elbows on the edge and peering in.

"Idiots!" A fist descended and thumped them both on their heads. "She doesn't live _in_ the well. She goes through it."

As his comrades slumped in the grass, rubbing their abused heads, Kouga planted both hands on the rim of the well and narrowed his eyes at it, as if he could force it to reveal its secrets by glaring at it. Kagome's scent still lingered; she'd gone through only a few hours before. Dog Breath had too, around the same time. He narrowed his eyes a little more. Why could that mutt get though?

"I'm going," he announced, and jumped in.

He landed with more of a jolt than he normally would have from such a short jump, since he really hadn't expected to hit the ground at all. He stared up at the square of daylight above him, and saw Ginta and Hakkaku gaping down at him.

"Uh, Kouga, I think you're still here," said Hakkaku, as Ginta nodded in agreement.

"Shut up, stupid! Of course I'm still here!"

He aimed a kick of frustration at the inner wall of the well, but pulled his strength back at the last moment. He didn't want to damage it. What if Kagome could never come back?

_How do you make this stupid thing work?_

He jumped up a short distance and came back down, hoping half-heartedly to trigger the magic that allowed Kagome passage through the well. To his great surprise, the well suddenly swirled with foreign energy, raising the hair on the back of his neck. For a moment, he thought he had succeeded.

Out of the floor of the well rose a familiar figure. There was a pause as they stared at each other. Kouga fought an uncharacteristic blush as the newcomer's face took on a derisive smirk.

"Wha'cha doing, Kouga?" Inuyasha asked mockingly.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	3. Sango

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 3: Sango**

Sango left Miroku twitching in the dirt and stormed away, fuming. He'd been unbearable for the last two days, and with Kagome and Inuyasha gone through the well, there'd been no escape for her. She'd tried hiding in Kaede's shadow for a while, but the presence of the elderly miko didn't dissuade him from his lecherous groping. She should have known better. He was utterly shameless.

The problem was that the houshi was bored, and when he got bored he tended to find ways to entertain himself. But why couldn't he entertain himself with something besides her ass?

She found herself at the well, as though her presence could somehow make Inuyasha and Kagome return early to rescue her from being the object of Miroku's "affections". Sighing, she kneeled beside the well and rested her elbow on it, her chin in her hand.

Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to see Kagome's world. Every description she'd heard from Kagome (or Inuyasha, when he was in a good mood) made her era sound like a truly wondrous place. Looking down into the well, she wondered if it would be possible for her to go through.

"Sango-san!"

At the sound of Miroku's searching call, Sango did something she very rarely did. She panicked.

With a flying leap, she dove over the rim of the well, with wild thoughts of somehow escaping into Kagome's era. It was only when she was in mid-flight that it occurred to her to wonder: _What am I doing?_

Twisting in mid-air like a cat, she latched onto the vines growing inside the well. Her downward momentum came to an abrupt halt with a wrench that nearly pulled her arms from their sockets, but her sideways movement continued, bouncing her painfully against the inside wall of the well. Grimacing, she let herself swing there for a minute. Maybe she could just hide here…

Footsteps thudded softly on the ground, coming closer. A shadow fell across the well, and Sango looked up. She couldn't see Miroku, just the long shadow he cast in the evening sun, but he was definitely standing very close.

"Sango-san!" he called again. "Come on, I said I was sorry!"

Sango stayed very still and quiet as her arm muscles started to burn with exertion. _Please don't look in the well…_

The footsteps shuffled a bit, and Sango held her breath. Then, to her great relief, they retreated in a different direction. She waited until Miroku's calls faded into the distance, and then pulled herself up out of the well and fled back to the village, in hopes of avoiding any more embarrassment.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	4. Kikyou

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 4: Kikyou**

Her reincarnation really was such a strange creature.

This was a riddle Kikyou had devoted rather more time to pondering than she would have liked. She couldn't seem to help it. The girl had saved her twice now, once when they were trapped within the miko-sealing youkai that disguised itself as a mountain, and again when she'd purified the wounds Naraku had inflicted. Not once had the girl asked for repayment, or even so much as a thank you. Kagome hadn't even hesitated to offer what help she could, seeming to regard it as a forgone conclusion that she would do all she could to help one who was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a friend to her. By all accounts, the strange girl had treated many others exactly the same.

Kikyou marvelled that her soul could have changed so much from one lifetime to the next. It wasn't the instinct for helping others that was so different; Kikyou had spent her life doing just that, and had taken great satisfaction from it. She liked helping people. What was different was the fact that the future girl was so guileless as she went about it. She truly seemed to have no personal designs or calculations when she helped those who might prove to be threats to her.

It wasn't even that the girl was simply naïve, as Kikyou had first thought. She seemed to possess full awareness of the dangers of this world and the possibility of betrayal. There was simply something fundamentally different about her that Kikyou had never before encountered, which led the girl to think the best of others until proven otherwise. Risky, but surprisingly effective. Most of those who the girl treated this way seemed to feel the need to live up to her expectations.

What sort of world had produced a girl with such unusual purity of heart? Was everyone in the future equally in possession of such attributes, or was Kagome as unique in her world as she was in this one? Kikyou suspected the latter; underlying the girl's kindness was a grit and strength that pointed to a world that still required mental toughness, even if her trusting nature suggested a future that was less physically perilous than this era. But still, it would be nice to imagine a future so peaceful that it could produce many pure-hearted people. It would be nice to think that all their struggles and torment now would eventually make a difference in the world. That it all had a purpose. It was a pleasant fantasy.

This was why Kikyou was standing at the bottom of the well, trying to figure out how she was going to get back out.

Well, it wasn't _exactly_ why Kikyou was at the bottom of the well. It really had something to do with the fact that since her resurrection into this imitation body, she'd found it alarmingly easy to become obsessive about things. She hadn't been like this when she was alive. She _knew_ she was different than before. She used to be so deliberate in her thoughts and actions, but now her mind seemed to fixate on ideas that were hard to shake off. The idea of going to hell with Inuyasha, for instance (why did she want that? Even she didn't know). Stealing the jewel fragments from Kagome and handing them over to Naraku (she knew what her plan was, but sometimes the logic behind it seemed to elude her grasp like smoke). Continuing to blame Inuyasha for her death despite the fact that she now knew that he had not wronged her in any way on that fateful day (it didn't make sense, and yet the anger and hurt still lived on).

She had encountered ghosts that were like that, unable to let go of things no matter what new information you might try to explain to them, frozen in a single moment in time. Was that what she was now? A sort of ghost?

The more she'd wondered about Kagome's time, the more the thought seemed to consume her. What if the future really _was_ such a peaceful place? It didn't seem possible, but still she wondered, until she wanted to find out for herself if it was possible for her to go to the future. She and the girl shared a soul, after all. If the girl could use the well to travel to Kikyou's era, than it stood to reason that Kikyou should be able to use it to travel to the girl's era.

And that was the real reason why she was in the well.

It hadn't been a pleasant experiment. She'd directed her soul collectors to lower her in, only to discover that apparently they were incapable of entering the well. They'd dropped her. Now they were swirling overhead anxiously as Kikyou reflected ruefully that she'd never been much of a climber.

Still, there was no help for it, and at least she seemed to be cured of her newest obsession. Grasping the vines in both hands, she pulled herself up, finding toeholds where she could. Finally, dirty and dishevelled, she pulled herself over the top and let her soul collectors whisk her away, hoping like mad that she hadn't been seen.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	5. Kohaku

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 5: Kohaku**

This wasn't his idea.

Nervously, Kohaku glanced around him at the edges of the clearing. Even knowing that his sister and her friends were currently far from here, he still couldn't help but feel worried that he might be seen. If he got caught, everything would go wrong. He had to keep following Naraku's orders as best he could if the return of his memory was to remain undiscovered.

"Go to the bone-eater's well and see if it is possible for you to cross through it," Naraku had said to him. Apparently it was not possible for Naraku himself.

So here, shortly after dawn, Kohaku sat on the rim of the well, looking about and wondering why he didn't feel happier about this relatively peaceful task. He wasn't being ordered to kill anyone or fight anything. He should be glad to be far from battle. But he burned to know what was going on. Was Sango safe? Had anything of note happened? Had there been any shift in the balance of power?

Sighing, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He peered into the shadowed depths of the well, and a curious thought entered his mind. If the well worked, and he ended up in the future, would Naraku's control over him still exist? Could such a hold cross the boundaries of time? Would he be free to start over in some strange, distant era? To be free of the images that haunted him, the crimes he had committed, the sins that stained his soul, the blood on his hands…

He shuddered violently and teetered precariously on the edge of the well, gasping for breath as he clutched the wood to regain his balance. He forcefully shoved the images and flashbacks and nightmares away. No. He'd never be free of that, no matter how far he ran.

But if the well worked, would he be free of Naraku, at least? (_And if it didn't work, would the fall be enough to break his neck? Could he even die without the removal of the jewel fragment? Would he dare to try it?_)

He tried to quiet the dark whispers of his own tormented mind, and wondered if he was the only person who had such thoughts. Surely it wasn't normal. Pushing off of the wood, he let himself drop (_a perfect landing on steady feet; Chichi-ue would have been so pleased_), and tried to ignore the stinging in the soles of his feet. Obviously the well was not going to work. He stood there in the chill darkness, staring up at the patch of light above that seemed so far out of his reach, and reflected that this was actually a pretty good metaphor for how he felt every day.

He jumped and caught at the vines growing inside the well, pulling himself up hand over hand with ease. At the top he let himself tip over the edge into the grass and sat for a bit, leaning his back against the well with his wrists resting on his raised knees, staring pensively at the patch of grass between his ankles. The stiff breeze picked up and swirled across the clearing, filling the area with the creaking of distant tree branches, the rustle of grass, and the flapping of cloth…

Kohaku's head shot up as he sprang to his feet, turning towards the sound that didn't fit. His hand went automatically to his weapon, his posture settling into a defensive stance without conscious thought.

The old miko just looked at him calmly, not making any motion to approach or retreat. Kohaku suddenly felt his cheeks heat. Here he was, threatening a miko, of all people! _A miko!_ What would Chichi-ue have thought of him?

The miko spoke. "Kohaku-kun," she greeted him without reproach. "Have ye been well? Sango has worried about ye."

He backed up a step. "I don't know you. I don't know what you're talking about."

The miko's wrinkled old face took on a look that was all too shrewd. He felt as though everything inside his head was being taken out and laid bare for all to see. Panic clawed at his insides.

"Don't tell anyone about this," he ordered (_threatened, begged, whimpered_), and he turned and fled.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	6. Kaede

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 6: Kaede**

Kaede's search for wild herbs brought her into a familiar clearing, and she stopped, contemplating the well. She remembered when it had been a mere curiosity of little purpose beyond the disposal of youkai remains. Now it was far more important. No matter how many times she witnessed it, young Kagome's ability to travel through the magic portal never ceased to intrigue her.

Such a strange place, the future. Kaede hardly understood half of what Kagome endeavoured to explain about her time. She also suspected that some of the descriptions Inuyasha gave when he was feeling talkative were not quite correct, which really didn't help matters. Clearly, the world would change so much in five hundred years that only by being experienced firsthand could it ever be understood.

For just the briefest moment, a speculative look entered her single eye as she looked at the well. Then she shook her head, turned, and walked back towards the village.

"Nay. Definitely not."

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	7. Myouga

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 7: Myouga**

Not again!

Myouga closed his eyes tightly and waited for the weightless feeling to subside. It was horrible, for a little flea like him, to experience such strong magic. He didn't like the vertiginous sensation one bit.

This wasn't the first time this had happened. He really ought to avoid Inuyasha-sama when his master ventured near the well. He still wasn't sure why it worked. Perhaps it was because he was in physical contact with Inuyasha-sama, clinging to the back of his neck. Perhaps it was because he was full of Inuyasha-sama's blood, especially since flea youkai were able to absorb a little of the donor's youki or aura when having a meal. He wasn't about to experiment to find out.

He hadn't gone far the first time. He'd mostly stayed hidden on his master, only venturing out of hiding to investigate when Inuyasha-sama fell asleep on the floor beside Kagome-sama's bed. Myouga was not a brave flea. The thought of running into some unknown danger was terrifying. And what if he was left behind? He might be stuck here for untold days or weeks, all alone, and what if his master needed him? On subsequent visits (always accidental), he had explored a little further, but always returned quickly. He had not told anyone about this, and he was careful not to be seen. Inuyasha-sama would probably be angry with him if he knew. Myouga wasn't sure _why_ Inuyasha-sama might be angry, but Inuyasha-sama tended to get angry about every new piece of information Myouga brought up, so it was best to play it safe.

Myouga didn't like the future. Not one bit! It was smelly and noisy and dangerous.

Although the cat had awfully tasty blood.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	8. Kagura

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths.

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 8: Kagura**

Kagura was on surveillance.

Well, that was what Naraku called it, anyway. Kagura called it "pretending to do what she was told when she was really just lazing about following interesting breezes while wishing for freedom". Somehow, she didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Naraku about this.

Kagura didn't care what was going on in the shabby little village below. Why couldn't Kanna use her mirror to spy? What did Naraku have Kanna doing instead that was so important? Kagura didn't care what Inuyasha and his friends were up to. It wasn't as if she could fly close enough to spy on them without being seen. She was forced to choose between flying low above the treetops outside the village and hoping her scent didn't carry, or flying so high above the village that she couldn't see what was going on, anyway. What a stupid mission.

As far as she could see, Inuyasha's group wasn't doing anything worth watching, either.

Drifting along on her feather, Kagura flopped onto her back and let her limbs dangle gracelessly over the edges. She stretched out as far as she could reach, almost to the point of pain. She felt like her body was too small for her, like the vast sky above was not big enough to contain her, like the emptiness in her breast would swallow her whole.

Sometimes she'd lie on her back on her feather, just like this, drifting higher up than the tallest mountains, and she'd wonder what would happen if she just started flying higher and higher. Where did the sky end? What was up there? How high could she go? Was there any limit?

Sometimes she'd lie on her belly at the coast, staring down at the water, and she'd wonder what would happen if she just started flying further and further out to sea. How far could she get before she was exhausted? What lay beyond the horizon? How far could she go before Naraku called her back? And if she refused to return, would she die instantly or fall into the sea and drown when he squeezed the life from her heart?

(And occasionally she'd lie bonelessly on her back in the grass and wonder what would happen if Sesshoumaru were to come across her, all alone and _wanting_. Her imagination could conjure up a thousand scenarios, ranging from realistic to ridiculous. Most of her favourites were quite unlikely. But what would it be like to have him above her? To feel his skin against hers? To feel him on her? Inside her? Now _that_ was food for thought.)

Kagura _wanted_ all the time. She wanted everything. She wanted freedom and power, adventure and shelter, glory and security. She wanted _space_. She wanted so much space that she could just spread herself out over forever, and blow across the land in every direction, and push the tiny ships on the sea, and shove down the mightiest trees, and ruffle the hair on the smallest child. She wanted people's awe and fear. She wanted their love. She wanted it all. Everything.

Kagura sat up abruptly, restless, and dove sharply towards the trees far below, gaining speed, almost as though she was daring the forest to blink first. She waited until the last moment… then another moment… and a moment more… before pulling up sharply, using all her strength to keep from being impaled on the branches. The leaves strummed against the bottom of her feather like fingers over the strings of a koto. Skimming the treetops, she sped over the woods, traveling in constrained circles like a frustrated dog on a short chain.

How dare he! How dare Naraku imprison the wind! How dare he presume to keep her heart from her! She railed against her master and thraldom as she jerked her imaginary chain, rattled the bars of her cage, beat her fists upon the barred door. _Let me out, let me out! I can't breathe like this!_

Daring and reckless, she dipped down into the trees, urging her feather to even greater speeds, faster and faster, barely avoiding the branches and trunks. A twig tore her sleeve. _Faster._ Another slashed her cheek. _Faster still! _The adrenaline, the thrill, was the closest she could come to tasting freedom. Funny that she only truly felt alive when she was acting suicidal.

The flickering shadows of the forest suddenly exploded into light as she shot out of the trees and into a clearing. The feeling of her own enslavement was so stifling she felt she was going _mad_.

_Let me out!_

Across the clearing sat the notorious Bone Eater's well, quiet and unassuming. Naraku could not get through it. But there was a world on the other side. A world without Naraku.

_I can't breathe!_

Drunk with her own rebellious power, she raced towards the well, wanting nothing more than to escape. At top speed, she dove down into the shadowy depths, ignoring the little voice at the back of her mind that was jumping up and down and waving its arms in a desperate bid for her attention.

_Let me OUT!!_

_Thud!_

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**

In the village, Inuyasha suddenly jumped off the fence and sniffed the air.

"Kagura's scent," he said brusquely, casting about the area as his friends grew tense.

"Look, there she is!" Kagome called out, pointing to the figure flying over the trees not far off.

Kagura seemed to be retreating, rather unsteadily. They all watched for a moment, feeling increasingly puzzled.

"She's flying like she's drunk," Inuyasha remarked.

**::oo::oo::oo::oo::**


	9. Sesshoumaru

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

**Summary:** "They had all tried it." The well proves to be too tempting for anyone to ignore. A series of nine one-shots of varying lengths. Final chapter!

* * *

**With Both Feet**

**Chapter 9: Sesshoumaru**

Standing just inside the cover of the trees, Sesshoumaru watched in quiet bemusement as his brother and the indecently-clad miko walked into the clearing, arguing loudly. They were unaware of his presence, or the presence of his companions. He wasn't currently interested in fighting his brother, as he had more important things to attend to. He didn't even want to be within fifty miles of Inuyasha, but this was the quickest route to his destination, so he'd taken the most expedient course of action and masked the youki and scents of his group as soon as they had drawn near to this region. Inuyasha couldn't fight what he didn't know was there.

From the looks of things, he probably needn't have bothered. Inuyasha's attention was completely fixated on the miko, and hers on him, as they shouted themselves hoarse. Their behaviour was baffling; they seemed determined to purposely misunderstand each other, which only fuelled their fury. Their incessant struggles for dominance still continued to be characterized by a great deal of sexual tension. Why did they still refrain from mating? They clearly desired each other. Was it some deficiency of human blood that caused them to act so? Were human females normally so antagonistic towards potential mates? Or did the fault lie solely with Inuyasha? Sesshoumaru would admit that his opinion of his brother was quite low, but even he would be surprised if Inuyasha was simply too stupid to figure out how to claim a mate.

Soft rustling sounds and cracking twigs approached Sesshoumaru, and he shot a warning look at Jaken, who froze in trepidation. Rin and Ah-Un, the former seated on the latter's back, were much quieter as they watched the scene. Luckily, Inuyasha and his wench were making far too much noise to hear the slight disturbance. The argument finally reached its inevitable conclusion, and the hanyou was left cursing in the dirt as the miko subdued him with her spell. What an embarrassment.

Then the woman surprised him when she sat down on the edge of the well. "I'm going home!" she announced. "And I'm not coming back until my tests are finished. And don't you dare follow me until you can be civil, Inuyasha, or I'll _osuwari_ you so hard your ancestors will feel it!"

Inuyasha slammed into the ground again, as the miko let herself slide into the well and disappeared from sight. Sesshoumaru could feel the sudden surge of magic from where he stood.

He'd known full well that the miko was a time traveller from the future; Bokusenou had revealed that much. But until now he hadn't any idea how she might accomplish such a thing. So this was the trick.

The spell finally released Inuyasha, who jumped to his feet and shouted towards the well. "Fine! Go home! Why should I care?" He then proceeded to stomp around the well for another ten minutes, muttering and cursing under his breath, before finally giving in and leaping through the well himself.

This time Sesshoumaru was expecting the power surge, and all his senses were trained upon the well as his brother's action triggered whatever magic it held. How peculiar… So his brother could pass through at will also. What strange things lay on the other side? How far into the future had Inuyasha and his wench just travelled?

If Sesshoumaru had one failing, it was that he was incurably curious. This was mostly because he was bored much of the time.

He strode forward into the center of the clearing and stopped beside the well. He'd travelled this way many times in the centuries he'd been alive, and he'd never given this dry well a second glance. Had it always held such a power? Or had it been somehow enchanted just recently?

Rin came from behind him and leaned on the edge of the well, looking into its depths. "Where did they go, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Into the future, it would seem," he answered absently.

Rin looked up in surprise. "Really? Ooooo…" She peered back into the well again as Jaken climbed up and stood on the edge to look in. "How does it work, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sesshoumaru did not reply, mostly because he didn't know the answer.

"I wonder if it is possible for others to travel through it," Jaken mused aloud. "What do you think, Sesshoumaru-samAAARRRGH!!"

_Thump!_

"Boohoohoohoo! Why are you so cruel to me, master?"

Well, that hadn't worked.

Withholding a sigh, Sesshoumaru stared into the bottom of the well, where Jaken was getting to his feet with many a whimper and whine. He was going to have to jump in there and retrieve the snivelling little pest now, which he should have considered _before_ pushing Jaken into the well. Haha-ue had always warned him that his impulsiveness was one of his greatest failings. He'd never really listened to her. Of course, she'd also said that his habit of ignoring things that displeased him was another of his less than stellar attributes. He'd ignored that as well.

"Jaken-sama!" Rin called down to the complaining figure below. "We can still see you!"

"Be quiet, you horrible little child!" Jaken cried shrilly. "_Obviously_ it didn't work!"

Sesshoumaru leapt into the well and landed gracefully, unsurprised that his jump had not triggered the portal to react. He looked about for a minute, before Jaken's whimpering got on his nerves. Grabbing the little youkai by his collar, Sesshoumaru tossed him out of the well. Jaken quickly started bemoaning his landing on the ground above. Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes and tuned him out so he could go back to studying his surroundings. Experimentally, he flared his youki to see how the well would react, but it sat dormant, its secrets well hidden.

In resignation, Sesshoumaru jumped back out of the well and landed neatly on the grass. For some reason, he was loath to leave matters as they were. The situation irked him. How was it that the miko and the hanyou could get through, when he could not?

As if he'd asked the question aloud, Jaken stopped whimpering long enough to sullenly offer a theory. "Maybe only those with human blood can cross through."

This idea had some possibilities, but there was no way to know for sure. It's not as though he had the means to test…

Caught up in his own thoughts, his panicked snatch at the back of Rin's kimono came a little too late as she vaulted fearlessly over the side. More alarmed than he liked to admit, he watched uselessly as the small girl landed at the bottom with a sickeningly heavy thud. Thankfully, she started to stir almost immediately, and quickly sat up, apparently little worse for the wear.

"You were wrong, Jaken-sama!" she shouted crossly.

Rin was hardly ever cross. She usually only acted so to cover feelings of hurt. Sesshoumaru hated it when she was hurt.

"Are you injured, Rin?" he called down in calm tones.

To his dismay, her eyes filled with tears. She almost never cried, either, and he really hated it when she did. It always made him feel strange and uncomfortable and helpless.

"Rin's ankle hurts really bad," she replied, her bottom lip trembling. "And Rin doesn't know how to get back out."

Holding back another sigh, Sesshoumaru jumped back into the well and picked her up.

**:Owari:**


End file.
